EMINENT NIGERIANS MOURN GADHAFI
Eminent Nigerians yesterday mourned the death of former Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gadhafi, who was killed by his country's rebels on Thursday. They described him as a good leader, whose only mistake was overstaying in office.
Below are the views of those who spoke:
Senator Biyi Durojaiye
I pray that God will forgive whatever his shortcomings may be. I pray that his soul will rest in peace. I also pray that God will restore peace and orderliness in that country. I don't want to pass judgment on the manner of death of any person. Who knows his own end? Nobody does. It is not a surprise, the way it came. It is, however, unfortunate that many things went wrong before the end came. His death should be a lesson to all those in power. Power is transient. It does not matter how long. Forty-two years is not an eternity. So, people should try to do as much good as they can. It is a message to all that all earthly positions are transient.
Balarabe Musa
The lesson we should draw from the death of Gaddafi is that the world is being recolonised by America and NATO under a new condition. In the case of Gaddafi, he ruled his country and ensured the security of his people. He also had influence on people's lives, particularly, Africa. He served his people all his life. Nigeria has a lot of lessons to learn from the way Gaddafi ended. Libya and Iraq were states of their own which western imperialism detest. They want to dominate the earth. The next target is Nigeria.
Senator Suleiman Salawu
The death of Gaddafi did not come as a surprise because he volunteered to either die or succeed. He was determined to die or succeed in the crisis. He was engaged in a war against imperialists. A man like him committed a blunder by overstaying for 42 years. He was one of the finest African leaders we have. If we are to count three African leaders who can be said to be good, he was among the them. He used the wealth of Libya for the welfare of the masses.
Tony Momoh
That you can do well like Gaddafi did and mess up your record as Gaddafi did was as a result of not knowing when to quit. More than the average African leader, he took good care of the people of Libya. That can never be erased from his record. Here is a man who said he would not have a personal house until all Libyans have houses. Here is a man who addressed a human condition in Libya and provided for average Libyan.
Ebenezer Babatope
Gaddafi's mistake was that he made himself a victim of tenacity of office. He ruled for 42 years and that is too much. But Gaddafi must be seen from the other side, as a very strong pan-Africanist. That he ruled for 42 years actually tainted his image. He made himself victim of tyranny. But when you remove that, Gaddafi was a very strong pan-Africanist. Actually, I never like the way he was murdered. He should be given a state burial. I was in the final year in the University of Lagos when he built school in 1959 and Gaddafi, by age, is about a year older than myself. I have always followed Gaddafi and I have always loved him.